Drill round



Feb. 22, 1944.

J. P. LE GORE ETAL DRILL ROUND Filed April 30/1943 Jokwl. be Gore and Francis L -Brwndl Patented Feb. 22, 1944 DRILL ROUND 'John P. Le Gore, Hingham, and Francis .L. Brandt, Lynn, Mass., assignors to National Fireworks, Inc., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 30, 1943, Serial No. 485,216

3 Claims.

This invention relates to ammunition and more particularly to dummy or drill rounds.

Guns employed in the training of gun crews and the like are ordinarily used for firing service ammunition or shells. As a safety precaution and to conserve ammunition during this training, dummy or drill rounds are used in lieu of the service shells. The dummy rounds are constructed of metal and conform to the same dimensions and shapes as the respective service shells and are loaded with sand or the like in order to conform to the required weight of said service shells. In many instances, when a gun is subjected to considerable operation, in the loading and unloading of the dummy rounds, the wall of the shell chamber becomes worn, thus, rendering the gun useless for firing service shells. Furthermore, frequent use of the dummy rounds results in the same being discarded due to body-wear occasioned by said loading and unloading.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a dummy or drill round so constructed and arranged as to reduce to a minimum the wear on the Wall of the shell chamber, occa- K sioned by the aforementioned loading and unloading, and thus prolong the life of the gun.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dummy or practice round having a protective replaceable outer casing or sheath thereby enabling the other components of the round, when the sheath becomes worn, to be provided with a like sheath and thus effect economy with respect to said components.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dummy or drill round of the foregoing described character which is so constructed and arranged whereby the weight of said round may be readily varied to conform to the weight of the service round.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawing from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a drill round constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view thereof,

Figure ,3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

As illustrated in the drawing, there is provided a drill round 5 dimensioned and configurated to conform to a service shell for which said round is used in lieu of, said round comprising a metallic body or core 6 having a plurality of sections 1 and which core 6 is snugly encased within a sheath or casing 8, the latter having an interiorly threaded base end 9 in which is threaded a base Ill provided on its outer radial face with a socket l l for receiving and protectively isolating therein the firing pin of a firing mechanism. The outer radial face of the base is also provided with a pair of spaced spanner recesses 12 for receiving the pins of a spanner whereby to secure or remove said base ill to or from the sheath.

Adjacent the inner radial face of the base If], the sheath has threaded therein a plug l3 for engaging and maintaining the core 6 within the sheath against displacement.

The sheath is constructed of ametallous material, for instance, parallel laminated wood, the latter being impregnated, compressed, and bonded together by a suitable resin l5, for instance, phenol-formaldehyde. The foregoing described ametallous material lends itself admirably to precision machining and. is relatively heavy. Furthermore, this type of wood is considerably stronger than and more durable than untreated wood, the latter being easily subjected to wear and splintering with resultant relatively short life when used in gun-loading and unloading operations.

The core sections 1 constitute weights and it is apparent, from an inspection of the drawing, that upon removal of the base I!) and plug l3, the sections may be replaced by others of different weights to vary the weight of the round to conform to the weight of a service shell of the same caliber and type.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention, by the utilization of a sheath of ametallous material, serves to prolong the life of a gun and to permit long use of various component parts of the round upon replacement of the sheath with another.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully explain the invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the "features of the invention be used conjointly since they may be employed advantageouslv in various combinations and subcombinations.

It is to be understood that the invention is .not limited to the specific construction as illustrated and described as the same is only illustrative of the principles of operation, which are capable of extended application in various forms,

and the invention comp-rehends. all construction within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A drill round comprising, a single member 5 member containing a chamber extending substantially the entire longitudinal dimension thereof, said chamber being charged with a non-explosive material having a specific gravity greater than that of said member, and a threaded plug in the breach-bolt end of said member.

a 3. A drill round comprising, a single member having the external surface contour and size of an assembled projectile and impellent shell, said member containing a chamber extending subhaving the external surface contour and size of an assembled projectile and impellent shell, said member containing a chamber extending substantially the entire longitudinal dimension:

stantially the entire longitudinal dimension 1 thereof, said chamber being charged with a nonexplosive material, said material having a specific gravity and longitudinal distribution in said chamber providing an equivalent live-ammunition weight and balance in said round, and

a threaded plug in the breach-bolt end of said member.

JOHN P. LE GORE. FRANCIS L. BRANDT. 

